Obscure Music Mondays

Dame Ethel Mary Smyth DBE (April 22,1858 - May 8, 1944) was an English composer and member of the women's suffrage movement. Continue reading →

Maria Teresa Carreño Garcia de Sena (Dec. 22, 1853 - June 12, 1917) was a Venezuelan pianist, singer, conductor, and composer. Born in to a musical family, she became known around he world as a virtuoso pianist, often referred to as the "Valkyrie of the piano". Continue reading →

Ingeborg Bronsart von Schellendorf, (born Ingeborg Lena Starck, Aug. 24, 1840 - June 17, 1913) was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia to Swedish parents. Her father was a businessman, and her parents, though not musical themselves, were supportive of their daughter, who showed talent at a young age. Continue reading →

Poldowski (May 16, 1879 - Jan. 28, 1932) was the professional pseudonym for Régine Wieniawksi, daughter of Polish violinist and composer Henryk Wieniawski. Born in Ixelles, Brussels, her mother was English and had family associations with various composers and musicians. Continue reading →

Augusta Holmès (Dec. 18, 1847 - Jan. 28 1903) was a pianist and composer, born in Paris, and of Irish descent. Despite showing great talent as a child, she wasn't allowed to take piano at the Paris Conservatory. Instead she took private piano lessons with Mademoiselle Peyrnnet, and later on, harmony and counterpoint with Henri Lambert, and composition lessons with Hyacinthe Klosé. Holmès became a student of César Frank in 1876, and considered him her greatest teacher. Continue reading →

Scott Joplin (c. 1867/68 - April 1, 1917) was an African-American composer and pianist, who came to be known as the "King of Ragtime Writers". Joplin was born in to a family of railroad laborers in Texas, but got as much musical knowledge as he could from local teachers, and ended up  forming a vocal quartet, and teaching mandolin and guitar. He later left for the south to work as a itinerant musician, and eventually found his way up  to Chicago for the World's Fair of 1893, which contributed towards the ragtime craze. Continue reading →

Florence Beatrice Price (April 9, 1887 - June 3, 1953) was an African-American pianist and composer, and the first African-American woman to have a piece played by a major symphony orchestra. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Price's first piano teacher was her mother, a music educator, and Price's first recital was at the age of 4. After high school (which she graduated top of her class), she studied piano and organ at the New England Conservatory, and pretended to be Mexican, due to the stigma that African-Americans faced during that era. She also studied composition and counterpoint with George Chadwick and Frederick Converse, and graduated in 1906 with honors. Continue reading →

James Reese Europe (Feb. 22, 1880 - May 9, 1919) was an African-American bandleader, arranger, violinist, pianist and composer. Continue reading →

Will Marion Cook (Jan. 27, 1869 - July 19, 1944) was an African-American violinist, conductor, and composer born in Washington, D.C. His father was dean of the Howard University School of Law, but died when Cook was ten. He was then sent to live with his maternal grandparents in Chattanooga Tennessee, who were able to buy their way out of slavery. He said that was his "soul period", and where he experienced "real Negro melodies". Continue reading →

Henry Kimball Hadley (Dec. 20, 1871 - Sept. 6, 1937) was an American violinist, composer and conductor, born in to a musical family in Somerville, Massachusetts. Continue reading →